Mulsh layer



H. E. STARRATT.

vMULSH LAYER. APPLICATION FILED mm. 1919-. RENEWED APR. 19. 1920.

1 3-4 1 4-18% PatentedMay 215 192%.

U N l T E l s'mns OFFICE.

Application filed. .TanuaryG, 1919.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HAROLD E. STARRATT,

' a citizen of the United States, residing at Olaa, in the county of Hawaii and Territory of Hawaii, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mulsh Layers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a mulsh layer.

A method of enhancing the growth of sugar cane and preventing the growth of weeds has been introduced in Hawaii, which method consists broadly in the application of a strip of paper or other similar material to a row of cane. This strip is applied over the surface of theground in which the cane is planted, and is continuous. In practice it has been found profitable to use the ordinary asphalt felt paper. This paper, as is well known, is put on the market in rolls, the rolls having axial openings therethrough.

The object of my invention resides in the provision of a device by means of which the paper may be applied to the vrow of cane with the greatest facility and the consumption of the minimum time.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is an elevational view of the de vice with a roll of paper shown thereon in dotted lines; and

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail showing the manner in which the jaws are adjustable.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawing consists of a handle portion 1, having a grip portion 2 and having oppositely extending arms 3. These portions of the device are formed of a single piece of metal which is bent into the form illustrated in the drawing and which is twisted as at 4:, at the junction of the metal with the grip portion. The tendency of the two elements of the handle 1 is to move outward under the action of their own resiliency, so that the arms 3 will be moved away from each other. This tendency is overcome and the elements of the handle 1 are clamped together by a keeper 5, which is adapted to slide on the handle 1 into either its operative or inoperative position. Telescopically mounted on the ends of the arms 3 are jaws 6, which are open at right angles to the arms 3,as at Specification of Letters Patent.

MULSH LAYER.

Patented May 25, 1920.

Serial No. 269,824. Renewed April 19, 1920. Serial No. 375,150.

7, and are provided on their ends with alined frustoconical bearings 8 which are rotatable and are held in place by suitable fasteners, such as nuts 9. The jaws 6 are adjustable on the arms 3 and are -held in their adjusted positions by detents 10, which are provided with bills 11 adapted to pass through openings in the jaws and corresponding openings in the arms 3, as illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawing. These detents 10 are provided with grip portions 12, so that the bills 11 may be withdrawn from the openings to permit the adjustments of the jaws on the arms.

As illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawing, the frusto-conical bearings 8 enter the axial opening in the roll of paper. This roll is placed upon the device by first moving the keeper 5 toward the grip portion 2 of the handle. This keeper being in this position permits the elements of the handle 1 to move away from each other and thus increase the distance between the bearings 8 to such an extent that the roll may be readily inserted between these bearings. When the roll is put in place the keeper 5 is again moved to its clamping position and will hold the bearings 8 tightly within the opening in the roll, so that the roll will be substantially stationary with the bearings. These bearings will, however, rotate on the ends of the jaws 011 which they are mounted and permit the strip to be paid out over the row of cane. This paying out of the strip is accomplished by securing the free end of the strip to the ground in some suitable manner and drawing the roll of paper over the cane row by means of the device described. It will thus be seen that the control of the passage of paper from the row may be greatly facilitated by the use of this device, for the direction may be controlled accurately by the operator.

By making the jaws 6 adjustable on the arms 3 of the device, the device may be adapted to paper rolls of various lengths.

While I have described a particular embodiment of my invention, it is, of course, to be understood that various modifications in the details of construction may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or exceeding the scope of the appended claims.

In practical use this device has been found very valuable, since the laying of the strips of paper in connection with the process which has heretofore been discussed,

may be carried out with great facility and,

furthermore, a great amount of time and labor Wlll be conserved. Of course, this conservatlon of time and labor amounts to a great deal in the application of the paper to the cane rows where the cane fields are so extensive as they are in Hawaii.

What I claim is A mulsh layer consisting of a single piece of resilient metal bent to form a grip memher, a handle member having two straight portions adapted to lie parallel to each HAROLD E. STARRATT. 

